Stay Tuned: Outlander’ is back with more sizzling time-traveling romance

Tuesday

Sep 5, 2017 at 11:56 AMSep 5, 2017 at 11:56 AM

Melissa Crawley More Content Now

Based on “Voyager,” book three of Diana Gabaldon’s “Outlander” series, the latest season of the Starz drama reunites World War II nurse Claire (Caitriona Balfe) and her 18th century Scottish lover Jamie (Sam Heughan) for a new adventure and more emotional highs and lows. With a strong cast, exceptional production values and a love affair that literally lasts through the ages, television’s best romance is back.

When we last left Claire 14 months ago, she had lived a few decades in the 20th century then discovered that Jamie survived the Battle of Culloden. She decides to go back to the past to find him. It is a powerful leap of faith for Claire, now in her fifties, to leave her life, her daughter and her time to return to Jamie not knowing how he will react or what she will find. The risk and the sacrifice she is willing to make based on her belief in the power of their love is a compelling part of Claire and Jamie’s story.

The first part of the season shifts between Claire’s life with Frank in 20th century Boston and what happens to Jamie after he survives the ill-fated fight against the British. Living with the ghost of Jamie between them isn’t easy and Claire and Frank struggle to find a way to move forward. The birth of Jamie’s daughter Brianna brings hope that they can start again but they settle into a less than ideal relationship. Balfe gives her usual strong performance as the tough but fragile Claire who must learn to find her place in the present while yearning for the past.

The season tackles some of the gender politics of 1950s America, which make Claire’s road to professional fulfillment difficult but it is a system she fights and ultimately beats when she graduates from medical school. The battle against her emotional longing for Jamie is harder to win and it takes a toll on her damaged relationship with Frank. It’s a layered story and one that Balfe tells with skill. She makes rooting for Claire easy, no matter which way you think her choices should take her.

Back in 18th century Scotland, Jamie deals with the physical and psychological scars of the battlefield. His experience at Culloden is told through his memory with virtually no dialogue and in one of the more touching scenes, he hallucinates that Claire is walking toward him through all the fallen men. Returning to his ancestral home and his sister, Jamie’s mental recovery is difficult and Heughan makes his suffering feel both authentic and heartbreaking.

Waiting for the moment when Claire and Jamie finally reunite is one part of the season’s appeal. The other is finding out how their separation and the secrets that now lie between them will shape their future. With Balfe and Heughan’s fantastic chemistry, it’s not hard to imagine that Claire and Jamie’s reunion will be anything less than red hot.